So whats the story with PharSide?

A lot of people have been asking me lately about PharSide, why I do it and whats my game plan, so here's a little insight as to what PharSide is, how it came about and why I do it

So where do I start? Well, I guess from the beginning of course…

The name PharSide, comes from the the famous or infamous PharSide night club in Pinetown, South Africa, of which I was involved in for a short period of time. I decided to pack my bags and make the long haul trip over to the UK many moons ago and see where it would take me, I got home one night after a decent boozing session and found myself doing some drunken purchasing… I seemed to have a habit of doing this, sometimes even forgetting what I'd bought until it arrived in the post a few days later… a prime example of this was a racing steering wheel with full action feedback and floor pedals for my computer car racing games. So one night while I was a drunken mess, I thought it would be a bright spark idea to purchase the domain name, PharSide.co.uk, just for shits and giggles….. and so it began

At the time I was living in a houseshare in Richmond Avenue, Wimbledon, with the likes of old school mates, Brad "BreadBoard" Hogg, Adam "The Fellow" Smallman and Trevor "Maverick" Webster. Our houseshare like many others, was one boozed up party house with something of an event happening virtually every night of the week in or out the house. Most notably was Brad's 24th birthday which was a house party that I'm sure Wimbledon itself will not forget because OMG!, madness in every sense of the word. I think I still have a video lying around somewhere of Adam being hurtled down the passage lying face down on a skateboard in a game of Human Ten Pin Bowling which included a series of empty beer cans lined up down the passage, however as he could not see in front of him he plowed head first straight into a heavy cabinet, we all cheered with laughter and surprise that he didn't crush a few vertebrae in his neck, because damn you should have head that knock… he did have a massive lump on his head though We decided that since we have this domain name, why not build a PharSide House website where we'd upload photos and stuff to show our mates back home in SA just what a jol they were missing out on. We even had little business cards made that we'd hand out to potential female sleepovers while we were terrorizing Wimbledon on nights out, lets just say the staff at KFC at the time absolutely hated us, they hated Brad more cause he always walked out with the straw container along with all the straws. Unfortunately we had to move because the owners wanted their house back, possibly because the neighbours may have let them know how much fun we were having, so we moved to the house in Springfield Avenue known by many a friend as the crash landing pad when they arrived in London. A book can be written about this house, trust me Although shortly after, I moved in with my ex which made room for The Phreak and Waine to become members of the board at Springfield Avenue, BreadBoard decided that London wasn't cool enough for him anymore and he cruised on back to SA. So the site stayed dormant for a while until we broke up and I moved into "The Pimp Palace Haven of Love" in Worple Road, yeah thats the flat with "WOOT! WOOT!" written in white paint on the wall outside facing the road. I decided to revive PharSide, but this time not keep it bound with a house, but for all my mates. As you can imagine, the photos that went up week by week were of absolute carnage and debauchery. I was later joined in the flat by none other than Darryn "The Boschman" Bosch, and although Jeff "Fai$al" Cox was an honorary inhabitant of Springfield avenue, he practically lived at "The Pimp Palace Haven of Love". The carnage continued, photos of debauchery continued to go up each week, at times I would take a walk down memory or should I say, not so much memory lane taking a look at some of the pics and it occurred to me that anyone actually looking at this website, must think we are absolute raging alcoholics! Although I don't think we were very far off to be honest. After a few years, we had to vacate "The Pimp Palace Haven of Love", as the owner wanted to turn it into a home office. It was possibly a blessing in disguise for the sake of our health, although it was a very sad time for us. Due to The Boschman's relationship commitments at the time to Taryn "Little Possum" Lombaard, she had had enough of our shenanigans and put her foot down (at least someone was sensible), so they moved in together and we went our separate ways. Unfortunately due to the depression of the end of a awesome era, PharSide was somewhat neglected and resembled a nostalgic dilapidated wasteland where civilisation was once present.

Another two years passed and the fire grew inside me until one day I was browsing a well known Cape Town blog (respect to Seth Rotherham and his blog, 2OceansVibe.com for giving me the inspiration) when my head burst from the pressure and as the smoke cleared, a little light bulb burnt brightly… that was it, why hadn't I thought of it before, this was the next stage in the life of PharSide, it had grown from a houseshare website which only included the housemates, to a debaucherous photo website for a large group of friends.. and now after a long wait to let its liver and kidneys heal, its time for it to branch out even more, for every young saffa in London living the dream.

So much for the history lesson… and that was the extra short version haha So since Mid-September 2009, PharSide has flourished into a lifestyle blog catering for all you Saffa's living it up in London, mainly South West London at the moment. Although saying that, whether you are in South Africa or even a saffa living in Alaska for that matter, you can still relate to PharSide. As you've probably seen now, PharSide has a mind of its own, there is no set direction or aim here, it directs itself, and it goes where you want it. PharSide is for everyone, it is there to provide you with entertainment, tell you where the jols are, let you know whats going down and all in all help to make your London experience that much better, its for all of you. Why do I do it? well why not? it entertains me to entertain you. I have had the biggest jol since the day I arrived in this town and it hasn't stopped, I want to share that with everyone because the bigger the party you have, is the bigger the party I have, which is the bigger the party we ALL have… kapeesh? I've been asked quite a lot where I find the time since I still work a full time job… well my friends… I decided I never really watch TV, so it is now taking up space in a shed at my parents house in Kent…. much to The Jen's disappointment as you can imagine but yes, you will not believe how much free time you have when you aren't glued to the TV all night Honest truth, I don't miss it and I don't even think about it…. although The Jen does keep reminding me

Since the new site went live in September, the amount of people visiting the site has increased day by day and sometimes at a rapid rate, obviously depending what I've decided to rant about on any given day, in the last week or so I've been peaking at ±700 unique visitors a day which was completely unexpected and given the time frame with zero money spent on advertising, I think thats pretty damn good after just 2 months… best of all its growing and growing. The awesome amount of compliments and support I've got from people is astounding. Just on Tuesday for example, I was standing outside Wembley Stadium before the Springbok vs Saracens game and an old friend, Hayden Cryer saw me, he said to his mate "This is Marky Mark, this is PharSide!" his mate then told me that because of my Durban curry review for Down South he trekked up there himself to have a taste and really digged it. Thats the kind of thing that keeps me going with this, thats the kind of thing that drives me, by making sure everyone is having an awesome time and enjoying the experience, because like I said, if everyone is having a jol, then yours truly is also having a jol… I enjoy writing articles and let people have their say in the comments because what I find half the time, is people are thinking the same thing I'm thinking but just waiting for someone to put it out there and say it… as you can imagine this snowballs into quite an eventful discussion at times. I enjoy speaking my mind and as you've probably noticed by now, once I start, I can't stop So if you dig PharSide and you dig what I'm doing, and if you want to be kept in the know, then become a fan of PharSide.co.uk on FaceBook and/or follow PharSide on Twitter (links top right)…suggest it to your mates if you want to, get them in on the action. Remember, sharing is caring and if you don't dig it and don't dig what I'm doing, then no-one is asking you to hang around and ever come back… simples

So if you are new to the whole PharSide vibe, have a read through the previous posts, it'll probably take a while, there's already been 69 before this one, but from what I hear, its worth the read

Thanks for all the support guys! You are all the best! Thanks for making PharSide what it is so far because without you it wouldn't be that way I'm amazed and I'm loving this ride!

Comments

I really think so too=P I have been looking around the internet for some time today, and its kinda hard to find something interesting to read on blogs=P Maybe its because there are too much of them around =) But your site actually keeps catching my attention. Great stories, and cool design ^__^. Ill be sure to give it more time now =P

well said marky at least we all know now where, what , who and why? he he. keep up the good work, like hearing your views, and seeing peoples comments. looking forward to future article x

About Marky Warren

Your Editor-In-Chief, Proud Springbok and Sharks Supporter.. If I could sum myself up in one quote, I believe Steve Jobs said it best... "Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently,they're not fond of rules. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."
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